A federal judge questioned the Trump administration about why the U.S. Department of State is only issuing passports with male and female gender markers.
U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick questioned the Department of Justice (DOJ) about “what scientific data or alternatives” were “consulted” upon prior to the Department of State issuing guidance that they would “no longer issue U.S. passports or Consular Reports of Birth Abroad (CRBAs) with an X marker,” according to Bloomberg Law.
“You’ve got to give me something, or else I’ll assume there’s nothing,” Kobick said, according to the outlet.
Per the outlet, Kobick’s response came after “a group of transgender Americans” filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, “claiming the policy forces them to ‘out’ themselves to border officials and exposes them to potential violence while traveling”:
A group of transgender Americans sued the administration, claiming the policy forces them to “out” themselves to border officials and exposes them to potential violence while traveling. They’re asking the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts for a preliminary injunction to block enforcement of the new policy and require the State Department to continue allowing the “X” designation on passports while the lawsuit plays out.
The Washington Blade reported that the “American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Massachusetts, and the private law firm Covington & Burlington LPP” filed the lawsuit.
On the Department of State’s Travel.State.Gov website, it states:
The White House issued Executive Order “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” on January 20, 2025.
Under the executive order, we will no longer issue U.S. passports or Consular Reports of Birth Abroad (CRBAs) with an X marker. We will only issue passports with an M or F sex marker that match the customer’s biological sex at birth.
In President Donald Trump’s executive order, it states that “it is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female. These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.”
The executive order adds: “The Secretaries of State and Homeland Security, and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall implement changes to require that government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, accurately reflect the holder’s sex.”
“The president has been granted the authority by Congress to set these rules and procedures and has done so here,” Benjamin Takemoto, a DOJ attorney argued, according to Bloomberg Law. “The president doesn’t need to undergo notice-and-comment rulemaking when they issue a rule like this.”
As Breitbart News has previously reported, since Trump’s executive order several transgender-identifying people, such as HBO’s Euphoria star Hunter Schafer, have spoken out about their passports being changed back to their biological sex.
In a press release from the ACLU, Ashton Orr, “a transgender man who lives in West Virginia,” accused Trump of trying to “control the lives and identities of transgender people,” according to the Washington Blade.
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